STAMP-TEMBER BLOG HOP ~ ANYTHING GOES!!

 HELLO AND WELCOME!!

IT'S STAMP~TEMBER BLOG HOP TIME!!!

The theme for both challenges this week is "ANYTHING GOES".  You can make anything you like … a card, an ATC, a mixed media project … the possibilities are endless!

Here's how our STAMP-TEMBER BLOG HOP works: 

You will need to hop through each blog, find the little parcel of goodies and leave a note on the designer’s blog where you found them. You do not HAVE to comment on all the challenge blogs but we all would really appreciate any comments you would might like to leave! (smile) 

If you lose your way at any time, a full list of all the participating blogs with links will be available on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge and the Stamp and Show Challenge blogs.  For more details please refer to either of the challenge blogs linked above.

If you arrived here from Christine Ousley's Blog then you are going in the right direction! Otherwise you need to start at the beginning on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge.

  

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Here is my "Anything Goes" Challenge piece for this week!!!

Since Halloween is fast approaching, I decided to create a spooky Halloween Shadowbox using a 7 Gypsies ATC Drawer...turned up on it's end, of course.

To begin, I spray painted the drawer with some flat black spray paint.  I then found some vintage Halloween postcards online and sized them to fit the interior compartments of the drawer.  

Our local stores are already starting to sell out of Halloween stuff so I stocked up on skulls, skeleton hands, pumpkins, skeletons and spiders.  Mixing these elements with my Tim Holtz On The Edge Iron Gate and On the Fence die cuts made a ghoulish but fun Halloween decoration!

The first compartment utilizes two of Tim Holtz' die cuts.  The Iron Gate is located at the top.  I cut it out of plain Grungeboard and colored it using a Silver Paint Dabber.  I pounced the dabber onto the Grungeboard to achieve that rough and weathered metal texture.  When dry, I rubbed Black Soot Distress Ink over the paint to further distress it.  The background in the compartment is from a vintage Halloween post card.  The little sheet music folder titled "Witches' Dance" is one I found online and sized to fit in the space.  I printed it out on white cardstock, cut it out, folded it, inked the edges with Black Soot and glued it into place using Glossy Accents.  The banner across the front of the compartment is from Tim's Tattered Banners die cut.  I cut it out on white cardstock and distressed it with Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade Distress Stains.  I freehanded the "TRICK OR TREAT" and then distressed the edges of the banner with Black Soot Distress Ink.  Finally, I rubbed Rock Candy Stickles over the entire banner for an even more vintage look.

The next compartment features a Tim Holtz Vial and a "POISON" label from Tim's new Little Labels stamp set.  I dropped a few drops of Fired Brick Reinker into the vial and rolled it around to colorize the glass.  Then I added the label.  The skeleton is a plastic head from Michaels that I colorized using some Espresso Paint from the dabber and rubbing it across the teeth, the nostrils and eye sockets.  Then I rubbed some Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold onto the skull to give it some "umph".  The background is from another vintage Halloween Postcard of a Halloween pumpkin man that I decided would look perfect peering out between the skull and the vial of poison. 

This view of the second compartment show the bottom.  I covered a piece of chipboard with Tim's Hobgoblin Tissue Tape and then distressed it with Wild Honey and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.  I edged the bottom with Black Soot Distress Ink and glued it into place.

 The third compartment features Tim's On the Fence die cut.  I applied Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint.  After it crackled, I added a hint of Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and just a touch of Black Soot Distress Ink.  The background is from another vintage Halloween postcard featuring a skeleton walking through a graveyard.  I put some moss on the "ground".  I had a piece of the Iron Gate die cut from the first compartment left over, so I pounced it with a Silver Paint Dabber and turned it into a headstone.  I then glued the headstone onto the moss on the far side of the compartment so as not to block the view of the skeleton on the background.  I glued the fence into place and then added a couple of pumpkins and a little skeleton head in front.

 The last compartment again had a vintage Halloween Postcard in the background.  I found the little crow and the skeleton's boney hand at Michaels.  Underneath is some orange colored raffia.  Then I wired the bird onto the hand and glued them into place using Glossy Accents.

The top of this piece has three little black "twigs" with some orange sequin type sparkles hot glued underneath an orange and black bow on the left side.  On the right side, I fashioned a flower using three different orange and black Halloween papers.  I cut three of the largest flower from Tim's Tattered Florals die cut.  I distressed the edges with Black Soot.  I glued them together and formed a fluffy flower.  I added a bit of black and orange tinsel garland as a center.  I needed this padding because my skeleton has a boney butt and I needed something for the hot glue to grab on to. (smile)  Then hot glued my skeleton sitting in the flower.  

My skeleton is shackled with a chain and some jump rings as "handcuffs".  I also added a bit more chain and another skull to dangle from the skeleton.  On the left side of the Halloween Shadowbox, I added a black spider ring (minus the ring part) dangling from a white thread.  Finally I added some spider webbing from a purchased package.

What a fun project and a great way to get into the Halloween spirit!! (Pun intended)  This is also going to be a class at Scrapbook Generation on Monday, September 12th from 12 to 5.  So, if you're in the Springfield, MO area ... come take the class with us!!!  Call Scrapbook Generation today to enroll.  There is limited space for this class so call today.  

Now it's your turn to release your creativity and place your entry on our blog!  Remember.... ANYTHING GOES!!! 
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From here you need to go to the super talented Domi's Blog for more inspiration!  If you'd like to leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from YOU!!